Wild camping is one of those things that many people want to do, but are scared of trying as they’re not sure of what to expect.
It doesn’t help that the internet is bare (for once!) of information on the matter. There don’t seem to be any good guides or tips anywhere – probably because it’s not ‘technically’ legal.
Having wild-camped with my sister and friend for the first time in France for 2 weeks this summer (’09), I’m fairly clued up as to the “dos” and “don’ts”, and also a lot less scared as to what might happen!
Below is a recap of our experiences. You’ll find info on the good and bad places to wild-camp in France. I’m sure this info is valid for any European country: Spain, Germany, Italy – you name it!
A recap of our experiences;
Camping Spots
The Good
- Picnic (or Pique-nique in French) spots
- Lakes & Other geographical features
- Forests & Forest Track
- Farmers!
These are generally quite easy to find, and often offer great camping spots with benches for cooking / eating and sometimes toilets! Every time we followed a picnic sign, we ended up in a secluded spot, quiet after 20h00.
Tying in with the idea of picnic spots, these areas generally have a fair number of picnic spots close by. If not, they can still be good options. Lakes and other large geographical features tend to be away from built up areas and offer spectacular places to camp for the night.
Don't worry about the signs
Another good one here, as there’s shelter and they’re often pretty close to life so you’re not stuck out in the middle of nowhere. You do need to look out for signs of activity though! A busy forest being cut for logging is not good (see below!)
We only ever did this once and it turned out well. If you’re ever stuck, just go knock on someone’s door (hopefully you can speak the language!) and ask if you can camp or if they know of anywhere to go. We did this one night and were directed to a nunnery – the best camping spot we found!
Camping at the nunnery
The Bad
- Tracks or People’s driveways
- Anywhere showing recent signs of activity
Yes, as stupid as it might sound, this did happen. You’d probably think “who in their right mind would camp next to someone’s house, on their land?” and the answer would be YOU; if light was fading, you were hungry and just wanted somewhere to sleep.
We came across these spots a few times. Vineyards, forests with logging going on are all not good! This is really only relevant for places you *shouldn’t* really be. Picnic spots show signs of activity, but are generally accepted for camping.
This brings up the important point that you shouldn’t leave it too late to start looking for camping spots. We did several times, and it mostly meant an uncomfortable night’s sleep (although it did pay off once, leading us to the nunnery!)
Transport
Now we did all of this with a trusty Peugeot 306, and it would have been hell without it.
I guess you could do it on foot, but it would make life a lot more difficult – if you found yourself in a dodgy area with dusk approaching you’d be stuffed.
Accommodation & Cooking
We invested in Quechua (from Decathlon) pop-up tents which, after 2 weeks of setting up camp at dusk and leaving at dawn were a godsend (literally take 10 seconds to put and AND down!). I’d recommend these tents to anybody who’s camping anywhere; they’re cheap and extremely cheerful.
We also bought a portable gas stove – not one of the cheap screw-on tops for gas canisters, but the more sturdy black-box gas stoves for ~£12.99.
One of the Campingaz CP250 gas cartridges (long, tall and thin) would last about 3-4 hours of cooking, just over a week.
Incase you’re worried. These CP250 gas cartridges, as well as other CP206bp cartridges can be bought in France, and I guess most of Europe.
Facilities
Generally, we didn’t have many problems with being smelly or dirty – we’d stay in a campsite every few days to clean up, or go to a beach and wash. In France there’s almost always a shower at the beach.
Outcome
I’d recommend wild-camping to anyone. You won’t get pestered by the law enforcers as long as you’re tidy and quiet.
It’s a great experience, and best of all – it’s free!
Hi Mary,
I’m glad you’ve found this site helpful!
I definitely think your best bet is to just jump in the car and drive! If you have a rough route of where you’d like to go and what you’d like to see then that is definitely a good thing.
If you plan on sleeping in the VW (as I’m sure you are) then finding “wild camping” spots should be even easier. Most ‘pique-nique’ areas would be fine. You’d have the advantage of being able to move on instantly if anybody has any problems (unlikely they will though).
Of course, speaking French is always a bonus! You can then ask locals for good places to stay (they’re always helpful) and it may help you get out of any sticky situations!
I hope you have a great time.
So glad to find this site. We are going to visit France next Oct for our 35th wedding anniversary and hire a VW camper bus just like one we had back in the 70′s!! We live in Alaska where “wild camping” is commonplace. But we will be completely new to camping in France. Where is the best place to get advice- or just get in the camper and drive? Any helpful tidbit greatly appreciated
Good insights there, thanks!
I agree that you should think about looking for places ‘far away from civilisation’. This is what we did and were never pestered. There was one night (one of the first) where we were all a bit scared — a car turned up at about 1am and shone the lights right at the tent. We had no idea what to do! Turns out is was just some more wild campers turning up very late in the night to the picnic spot we were using.
Pay the £10/€20 or so if you’re worried, but if you want the adventure or have done it before and know the ropes, Wild Camping is fine!
I have wild camped a few times in France but was unfortunately woken by the French police. I awoke to a man tapping a machine gun against my camper window. They were very polite but the machine gun seemed to upsett me.
If you use the auto routes or just join them for the evening as there is a toll to pay, you can find a rest area with toilets. Or you can find areas in more scenic routes to pull off for the evening. The further they are away from civilisation the less likely you are to be hasselled.
A fairly important point is that if you use a camp site (£10-20 per night ) you are unlikely to get robbed and you can sleep better if that worries you.
thanks patrick thats very helpful.kind regards brett
Hi James,
We did find a good wild camping spot in Mimizan-Plage, just outside Bordeaux.
Since Bordeaux is quite build-up and busy, I don’t think you’d find anywhere too close to it for camping.
If you haven’t already considered it, the thing I’d recommend the most just outside Bordeaux is the ‘Dune du Pilat’. Stunning!
Although we didn’t camp there, it was also quite a good forested area, so I think it would be quite good for wild camping.
We unfortunately ended our trip near Nice!
I did do some WOOFing on a farm just outside Les Arcs Draguignan though – not too far from Nice. If you’re interested it WOOFing, it may be something to consider.
Otherwise, I’d just follow my suggestions in my previous comment.
thanks patrick that sounds great,we plan on landing in nice then find somewere there for the night then going to antibes then further in land.